Calendar Workshop 2025

[Ann Seeber]

1 hour ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

Ann very nice and lovely to see the name of the bird and some explanation of it. Your calendar will be beautiful! I'm still in doubt if I want to have a solid frame around my photos or keep it translucent.

Corrie, I have used both. It's just what fits the feeling of the photo and masking. Plus, I'm flexible when experimenting like this. 😉

[Sue Thomas]

1 hour ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

Ann very nice and lovely to see the name of the bird and some explanation of it. Your calendar will be beautiful! I'm still in doubt if I want to have a solid frame around my photos or keep it translucent.

I am of the same thought as you Corrie. I have tried several techiniques using the mask, replicating many of what I have seen being done on here with the masks.  In all honesty and it is  my own personal  opinion and preference not to create frames, or even elaborate to much on the  masks.  Again , as far as I'm concerned masks are  meant to be subtle adornemts to any layout, if that is the right word to use. In this case, the calendar for me,   the focus is then taken from the photo and placed upon the decorative/beveled etc masks. Calendars are meant to identify dates and events, adding (my own) photos are a great way to add a peronalized touch. Calendars are also like magazines, they are flat, withouts shadows, bevels etc.  Hence it is my view to keep the focus on the photos, and the date boxes, whilst decorative and pleasing to the eye. Please don't anyone interpret what I have said  as being critial.

Edited October 26 by Sue Thomas

[Susan Ewart]

9 hours ago, Ann Seeber said:

Hi Suz - I had to resort to promoted selections and even had to park those up out of the group. These mask groups are really different but I'm getting the hang of it now.

Good thinking Ann, I will do some experimenting.

[Sue Thomas]

On 10/25/2024 at 12:41 PM, Corrie Kinkel said:

I just take one of your posts to tell you that your photos are great and very creative. I l see you do not use a capital to start the month name and that is an idea that I'm going to try because I had a bit of a problem with my months. Being still pressed for time this week I will certainly need at least the next week or so to get everything ready for printing. 

 

Not using a capital letter to start the month is a nice idea, paricularly if a glyph or a swash is added to replace that capital letter like  Susan did. 

Edited October 27 by Sue Thomas

[Susan Ewart]

15 minutes ago, Sue Thomas said:

I am of the same thought as you Corrie. I have tried several techiniques using the mask, replicating many of what I have seen being done on here with the masks.  In all honesty and it is  my own personal  opinion and preference not to create frames, or even elaborate to much on the  masks.  Again , as far as I'm concerned masks are  meant to be subtle adornemts to any layout, if that is the right word to use. In this case, the calendar for me,   the focus is then taken from the photo and placed upon the decorative/beveled etc masks. Calendars are meant to identify dates and events, adding (my own) photos are a great way to add a peronalized touch. Calendars are also like magazines, they are flat, withouts shadows, bevels etc.  Hence it is my view to keep the focus on the photos, and the date boxes, whilst decorative and pleasing to the eye. Please don't anyone interpret what I have said  as being critial.

I tried a bevel and cutout and would keep it if I sent it digitally, but for printed I always would worry about the shadows as they really darken when printing.  It's funny to me that I try what others are doing because it looks fabulous on their layout.  then I do it on my layout and it looks like a dogs breakfast...and I have CATS!  hahaha.  Kidding aside, I didnt interpret any of the post as critical.  I like to hear from everyone on what they like and dont like because I can then try something I would never have thought to try and see if I like it or not, or it sends me on another path of discovery.  Everyone's thoughts are valid and important to my learning and opening my narrow eyes.

Edited October 26 by Susan Ewart

[Sue Thomas]

5 minutes ago, Susan Ewart said:

I tried a bevel and cutout and would keep it if I sent it digitally, but for printed I always would worry about the shadows as they really darken when printing.  It's funny to me that I try what others are doing because it looks fabulous on their layout.  then I do it on my layout and it looks like a dogs breakfast...and I have CATS!  hahaha.  Kidding aside, I didnt interpret any of the post as critical.  I like to hear from everyone on what they like and dont like because I can then try something I would never have thought to try and see if I like it or not, or it sends me on another path of discovery.  Everyone thoughts are valid and important to my learning and opening my narrow eyes.

Absolutely! I always value anyones views  and preferences, the beauty of the campus is that anything creative is always open for discussion. I find it dificult to veer  away from  my  style, although I do on many occassions, which is good for me.

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Sue Thomas said:

Absolutely! I always value anyones views  and preferences, the beauty of the campus is that anything creative is always open for discussion. I find it dificult to veer  away from  my  style, although I do on many occassions, which is good for me.

It's hard to veer out of a style.  It's uncomfortable.  I think having a style is good; really good.  I follow a photographer and he talks about that too, and he's known for "his" style which is how he worked for 40 yrs in the industry (high end ad campaigns).  he advocates, learn a technique and experiment with it like crazy, until you are known for it.  For example, if you were making your layouts for resale, you'd get a following and they'd be buying because of your signature style.  (ie.  I buy June Hunters Crow prints because of her style).  Just because we are doing this for our own pleasure doesnt mean we cant do it in a professional way, right.  Of course I also advocate trying thing outside your style because discovery and learning comes from that.  And styles also change over the years.  I love your style.  I love a lot of people's styles and many different art forms, it sparks the imagination to something totally different.  

[Julian Adams]

10 hours ago, Julian Adams said:

I used an airbrush on this. I wasn't happy with the way the gradient was blended into the lighter pink so I just touched it up with an airbrush to make it look more smooth. Then I decided to do a little bit of random variations in the color during the transition. Then I got the idea of adding yellow under the mask to accentuate the yellow coloured month. I don't know much about how to use masks so I created a masks y selecting all and then using the selection tool removed the rectangular picture frame so I would not get yellow paint on it.

The possibilities are just endless!

Edited October 26 by Julian Adams

[Julian Adams]

5 minutes ago, Susan Ewart said:

It's hard to veer out of a style.  It's uncomfortable.  I think having a style is good; really good.  I follow a photographer and he talks about that too, and he's known for "his" style which is how he worked for 40 yrs in the industry (high end ad campaigns).  he advocates, learn a technique and experiment with it like crazy, until you are known for it.  For example, if you were making your layouts for resale, you'd get a following and they'd be buying because of your signature style.  (ie.  I buy June Hunters Crow prints because of her style).  Just because we are doing this for our own pleasure doesnt mean we cant do it in a professional way, right.  Of course I also advocate trying thing outside your style because discovery and learning comes from that.  And styles also change over the years.  I love your style.  I love a lot of people's styles and many different art forms, it sparks the imagination to something totally different.  

There are so many creative styles people have developed here. I learned a lot from seeing what I like in other people's ideas. I sort of developed a style of doing this last year. I was pretty happy with a lot of the calendars I came up with then. This year the first few calendars were trying to remember the techniques that I used to use. Then I started trying to push the envelope on those. I'm not really sure what my style is yet, but I think you can tell that I'm leaning in a certain direction that works for me. I do want to push the envelope though doing things like I mentioned above strong in an airbrush to modify a gradient and the color underneath the mask. This is really so much fun and teaches you so much about the nuts and bolts of Paint Shop.

I have been using paint shop back to version 8 to edit my photographs and the digital fractal artwork that I created. I logged many many hours just working on a single layer. It's taken me all these years to learn how to use layers.

 

Edited October 26 by Julian Adams

[Sharla]

1 hour ago, Susan Ewart said:

It's hard to veer out of a style.  It's uncomfortable.  I think having a style is good; really good.  I follow a photographer and he talks about that too, and he's known for "his" style which is how he worked for 40 yrs in the industry (high end ad campaigns).  he advocates, learn a technique and experiment with it like crazy, until you are known for it.  For example, if you were making your layouts for resale, you'd get a following and they'd be buying because of your signature style.  (ie.  I buy June Hunters Crow prints because of her style).  Just because we are doing this for our own pleasure doesnt mean we cant do it in a professional way, right.  Of course I also advocate trying thing outside your style because discovery and learning comes from that.  And styles also change over the years.  I love your style.  I love a lot of people's styles and many different art forms, it sparks the imagination to something totally different.  

It’s been great doing this workshop with you all because we do have different styles and approaches and they are great to see and learn from. I love the differences.

I never use masks in layouts so this calendar workshop has been a challenge for me. More than half of the photos I thought I’d use simply didn’t work with the masks and some of the ones I have used looked awful at their original size hence I’ve enlarged many of them so that some detail emerges. It’s been interesting having to do this because it’s not what I’d usually do. I'll persevere to the end but I am still a reluctant mask user!
 

[Sharla]

May is a peony in full bloom. June, lilies in the sun.

 

 

[Susan Ewart]

37 minutes ago, Sharla said:

It’s been great doing this workshop with you all because we do have different styles and approaches and they are great to see and learn from. I love the differences.

I never use masks in layouts so this calendar workshop has been a challenge for me. More than half of the photos I thought I’d use simply didn’t work with the masks and some of the ones I have used looked awful at their original size hence I’ve enlarged many of them so that some detail emerges. It’s been interesting having to do this because it’s not what I’d usually do. I'll persevere to the end but I am still a reluctant mask user!
 

I am doing the same.  the photos I'm using actually look better in a  portrait orientation.  It's sometimes a happy surprise when I fit them in the mask and think, hey, I would not have thought to use this photo this way and it look cool.  Your flowers are stunning.  Not just the photography but how full and perfect they look.  You have a very green thumb.  

[Donna Sillia]

July and August   The backgrounds are both from AI modified with FF distortion filters. I know that my backgrounds are fussy, but from what I see in David's pictures, Thailand patterns are vibrant and filled with patterns and colors. All the pictures are from David.

One thing that I noticed when saving as jpgs is that the resolution was 100 px. I checked the other templates, and they varied from 100 to 200. Carole, should we be changing the resolution to 300 if we are planning to have our calendar printed?

[Corrie Kinkel]

2 hours ago, Sharla said:

It’s been great doing this workshop with you all because we do have different styles and approaches and they are great to see and learn from. I love the differences.

I never use masks in layouts so this calendar workshop has been a challenge for me. More than half of the photos I thought I’d use simply didn’t work with the masks and some of the ones I have used looked awful at their original size hence I’ve enlarged many of them so that some detail emerges. It’s been interesting having to do this because it’s not what I’d usually do. I'll persevere to the end but I am still a reluctant mask user!
 

Sharla normally I like masks but then I can choose their size. Like you many of my photos didn't fit well into the masks, but slowly I'm getting there. Trial and error is a good description of this proces 😉

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Donna Sillia said:

July and August   The backgrounds are both from AI modified with FF distortion filters. I know that my backgrounds are fussy, but from what I see in David's pictures, Thailand patterns are vibrant and filled with patterns and colors. All the pictures are from David.

One thing that I noticed when saving as jpgs is that the resolution was 100 px. I checked the other templates, and they varied from 100 to 200. Carole, should we be changing the resolution to 300 if we are planning to have our calendar printed?

Donna, your patterns are really interesting to look at.  You are really well versed in AI and FF so your backgrounds come out really well.  And I'm super blown away how well polished and finished your months are.  There's is feeling of motion, like waves, in that background and you can see it's affect on the mask of the smaller picture (I love that mask btw).  

[Donna Sillia]

4 minutes ago, Susan Ewart said:

Donna, your patterns are really interesting to look at.  You are really well versed in AI and FF so your backgrounds come out really well.  And I'm super blown away how well polished and finished your months are.  There's is feeling of motion, like waves, in that background and you can see it's affect on the mask of the smaller picture (I love that mask btw).  

Susan, thank you so much for your kind comments. I sometimes have a tendency to over decorate. AI and Filter Forge are really fun to play with. Sometimes, it is hard to give the correct prompts to AI and have to try over and over. I have three that I use MyEdit and Adobe Express which are paid programs. I also use Microsoft Designer which is free, but requires credits which somehow just appear in my account.

[Sue Thomas]

I'm currently creating two calendars.  This one  is  my bird calendar, the other is a mixture of landscape photos. I will still have some minor editing to do. 

[Julian Adams]

[Gerry Landreth]

I will finish the rest over the next couple of weeks. This gave me a chance to practice techniques I hadn't used in a while. The pictures are stock images from the Morgue File, and the font is Samantha Upright.

Edited October 27 by Gerry Landreth

[Cassel]

@Julian AdamsThe bevel looks good on the days, without the outline (for June). For July, your airbrushing is so subtle that I would not have known if you hadn't said anything.

@Mary Solaas I don't understand why you had to use a different technique to colorize the dates? Did you merge the white with the dates? Just locking the transparency would have be enough to change individual date color.

@Ann Seeber It looks like those masks have generated very different results than I expected initially. All those ideas are definitely going to go into a class/tutorial/workshop!

@Sue Thomas I remember seeing credits at the end of some shows/movies where they didn't capitalize the names. I guess it is a style on its own but as you pointed out, some interesting glyphs can then be used! Curious to know: do you manage to always get a nice "solid" background or do you edit the photo to get it?

@Sharla Next time, I should warn people that the photos should be horizontal. I didn't mean to make it harder for users.

@Donna Sillia Those backgrounds are very interesting!

@Gerry Landreth Great work! That calendar will be lovely!

By the way, once you are done your pages, you can then post them in the gallery for everyone to enjoy them!

We are almost done!

[Julian Adams]

4 hours ago, Julian Adams said:

I did a different August picnic theme.  I think I like it better.  What do you think?

[Julian Adams]

3 hours ago, Gerry Landreth said:

I will finish the rest over the next couple of weeks. This gave me a chance to practice techniques I hadn't used in a while. The pictures are stock images from the Morgue File, and the font is Samantha Upright.

Just wow, Gerry.  The color combinations on your gradients are amazing not to mention everything else.

[Julian Adams]

September. 

 

Edited October 27 by Julian Adams

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Julian Adams said:

I did a different August picnic theme.  I think I like it better.  What do you think?

I would have a hard time picking.  they both appeal to me.  the people one looks so happy it makes me smile, the other one is so inviting I just want to walk right in, sit down and start eating.

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Julian Adams said:

September. 

 

Wow! that's awesome to make the date boxes into a mask.  Great work!